Turkeys can be found late in season, too

Apr. 21, 2014

Turkey season runs through May 18 in Ohio. / CentralOhio.com

Written by

Dick Martin

CentralOhio.com

Ohio’s spring wild turkey season began on April 21 and ends on May 18. The Ohio Division of Wildlife is predicting a good year, possibly a record one if the weather cooperates.

That means plenty of nice gobblers and jakes are waiting to grace a Thanksgiving table. A fair number of area hunters have already bagged a bird, but if you’re not one of the lucky ones, don’t despair.

Because often enough the hunting gets better instead of worse as the season progresses.

In the beginning, toms have plenty of girlfriends, all they can handle if they’re dominant birds. But as time goes by, many hens are fertilized and begin nesting, leaving gobblers to compete fiercely for those who didn’t.

So, unless hunting pressure is heavy, a seductive hen cluck in mid or late season could bring a nice bird at the run, and every hopeful jake in the area, too. But, you’ll need to pay careful attention even now to basics.

One veteran who has his technique down to a science offered a few tips.

“You’ve got to find the birds first. Without birds, the best calling technique in the world won’t work.”

So, he rises before dawn and cruises country roads in likely turkey country, spots where there’s a good mix of big timber and clearings, pasture and pines.

He’ll stop occasionally along those roads and give an owl hoot, one sound that seems to stimulate roosting gobblers to return the call. Once he’s found a promising roost, he’ll ask permission from the landowner.

If it’s given, head into the spot in late morning or early afternoon, long after the birds have left their tree. Then he starts looking for sign.

Plenty of scratches on the ground indicate a good population, but he’s looking hardest for “strut zones,” small clearings near the roost where tom turkeys are likely to spend time strutting and gobbling for hens. Next morning he’s ready to set up.

Like all hunters, this veteran hunts in full camouflage, usually mossy oak, with a face net and a shotgun that has a Parkerized finish so the barrel won’t shine. He favors a 12-gauge with 3-inch magnum shells and shoots for the head and neck with No. 6 shot.

“You’ll want to check your pattern,” he said. “Some shotguns do best with No. 6s, and others with No. 5s or 4s.”

After setting up at a good location at least half an hour before dawn, he starts the next vital part of any turkey hunt, calling. This element begins after placing a couple of hens and a jake decoy about 20 feet out in a clearing.

“I use a diaphragm call because it leaves both hands free for shooting,” he said. “I’ve practiced and practiced with it for many long hours.”

He likes to start with a tree call as soon as the birds have flown down, that soft sound a hen makes when she first flies out of the tree. Then he’ll follow with a cackle, since they tend to make that call first.

Then he waits. If a gobbler shows interest, he’ll give a few soft clucks, then wait again.

“A hunter can call too much,” he explained. “When they’re coming your way, don’t call at all. If they hold up, then try a few more clucks.”

Most days a hunter simply has to play it by ear, adapting calls and calling times to the individual tom. One can even add a slate call to the diaphragm call if a turkey hangs up, to make it sound like two or more hens are waiting.

But, given luck, eventually that beautiful bird will come strutting and gobbling with fan spread wide into range. Then it’s up to you.

Dick Martin is a retired Shelby biology teacher who has written an outdoor column for more than 20 years. He can be reached at richmart@neo.rr.com.